The DMZ

This past weekend, Ian and I headed to the DMZ. The tour was led by the USO and we found the experience insightful and eye-opening!





For me, I feel it is easy to forget that we live so close to such a feared border. Just a little ways away, the DMZ lies with its razor blade wire fences and its highly monitored division line. I remember my feeling as we walked into the room where the South Koreans and North Koreans hold their talks. I felt as though I was in a time warp, and I felt a wave of disbelief rush through me. I thought to myself; 'This is real. This is really and truly real. It isn't fabricated or exaggerated.' It was an intense reminder that there is so much animosity between these two countries.





As I walked across the division line and temporarily entered into North Korea, I took a deep breath. On one hand, it was as if I expected myself to feel entirely different, but on the other hand, I knew that was silly. If anything, I just felt a bit more tense! Ian and I, along with our friends, examined the South Korean soldiers who stood stationary in the room. They didn't move a muscle. Their hands were clenched and their shoulders were broad. We were told that they must stand in a certain Taek Won Do position the entire time. This position they have chosen ensures they would be ready in case of any problems, attacks or invasions.

We learned so many things about the division of the Korea's that day. We learned about how the US, among other countries have helped the South Koreans out. We also learned what the South Koreans have offered to the North Koreans as pleasant gestures. It just doesn't seal the deal though. We learned that the South Korean soldiers have been trained to get into all of their gear, load their weapons and get into their vehicles in 6o seconds.





We also went to the 3rd tunnel found by the South Korean government, with the help of supporting countries. We were told that he North Koreans built 16 tunnels with the hopes to invade South Korea, however the North Koreans denied it. The first tunnel was found in the 70's, but the 4th tunnel was just found in the 90's. The 3rd tunnel is the only tunnel available to the public and there were no pictures allowed inside. They have not found any other tunnels, so they assume they have caved in. The tunnel we entered however, was constructed to move 30,000 soldiers through it in 1 hour. It's unbelievable. That tunnel also ended only 52 km from Seoul. Frightening.





I feel that the South Koreans want reunification more then anything. It is extremely difficult to predict whether or not it could happen in the near future. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Behold, the most feared border in the world. To check out our pictures, go to this Facebook link:



http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2155444&l=cd606&id=187905622

Hope all is well with everyone!
Miss you!

Pics from Aunt Sharon's Visit!

Here are some pics from Aunt Sharon's visit!!! See the previous post to hear from Aunt Sharon and her adventures here!

All three of us in Gyeong-ju

Sharon infront of the coolest show ever in Ewha

Sharon and Kelly at the grotto in Gyeong-ju

I-Dawg and Kel

Aunt Sharon and I in Insadong with our chicken on a stick!

Ian and Devin... yummm Chicken on a stick!

Norebanaging! We had Sharon out until 5am!!

http://www.shoes.com/ Haha! Dongedemun Night Market, Sharon's second night here

Kelly in front of a street around Insadong

Sharon and Kelly playing "Quarters!"

Sharon and Ian posing at the 'B-Boy and the Ballerina' production

Sharon out with us at Chicken Palace

Here are some links to some albums:

Aunt Sharon says good bye...

I really have to thank both Kelly and Ian for their generous hospitality; they have been amazing hosts. I feel so lucky to have had this opportunity to see so much of the country they have made their home for the past year. We have been going non-stop! On my first weekend in S. Korea the three of us travelled 3.5 hours by bus to Gyeongju where we walked among the Spirits at Bulguka Temple then hiked down from Seokguram Grotto and visited ancient burial grounds in Tumuli Park-. We felt speechless as we stood in front of Cheomseongdae, the Far East's oldest astrological observatory (constructed in the 600's). The time flew by as we rode the superb subway rails to points of interest throughout Seoul. We visited palaces, temples, shopping districts, and Seodaemun Prison. We dined in authentic South Korean restaurants and along with a great collection of budding artists, we sang in a Noraebang- (keraoke room) 'til the wee hours of the morning, we saw an amazing dance production- "B-Boyz & Ballerina". I flew down to Jeju-do for two nights and was thrilled to see several areas and structures that are now protected by UNESCO and World Heritage.
Kelly and Ian have been surviving my visit on very little sleep- their priority has been entertaining "Aunt Sharon". I have felt comfortable, welcomed and totally pampered! Thanks to you both- you are two very special people. Gamsa hamdida buteo Aunt Sharon! Keep smiling as your adventures continue...

Singapore and Malaysia

Helloie everybody~

Long time, no blog, eh?! Sorry about that. As you can imagine, things are crazy here right now. A week after our vacation Aunt Sharon arrived and is still here. She is currently spending 3 days in Jeju! We leave Korea in 3 weeks time and it feels surreal. Seriously. We have so much to do... and I shouldn't be tackling it instead of blogging right now! So, I am going to just add to the email I sent out.

We went to Singapore and Malaysia. It was an amazing trip. I have been wanting to go to Malaysia since I started learning about it via Lonely Planet in September. I am so happy it ended up working out!

We had to make sure the trip was well-planned out, so we were constantly making the most of our time. We stopped in Singapore first and stayed with Mallory Gibson's family for 2 days and night. It was great to see them and how they live in Singapore. I look at Singapore as a "Stepford- country." It is perfectly manicured and the buildings are all beautiful, new and colourful. It is just like nowhere else I have ever been. The laws are really strict there and they do "hangings" every Friday. I couldn't believe it when Mal's cousin Scott told me that.

Mal's aunt Anne took us to places we may have never tried and made some awesome suggestions for our sightseeing. Singapore is definitely a cool place. It is like no place I have ever been. Anne took us to Raffles which is a beautiful hotel with a lot of history attached to it and we had Singapore Slings at the bar that created them! The next day we went on a river taxi through the beautiful Quays and to the Asian Civilization Museum. The museum was hosting very cool Buddhist exhibit. We also went to the "Battlebox." The Battlebox is where some of the Aussie and British soldiers were stationed in WWII when Japan was invading. It was really cool to learn about Singapore's involvement in WWII.



Then we hopped on the Jungle Railway up to Malaysia and made our way to the worlds oldest jungle. It is more of a trek to get to the jungle then one may believe. You arrive in a small town and then take a bus to the dock, and THEN take a 2.5 hour boat ride on a small wooden boat to the jungle. WOW. It was pretty amazing. And it wasn't commercialized which was even cooler. All the little floating restaurants were owned by Muslim families. It was great.

We slept in a 'hide' in the jungle the first night and also climbed the Canopy Walkway (the longest canopy walk in the world). The hide was really cool and there were about 12 other people sleeping in there with us... all waiting up and staring into the jungle, hoping to chance a glimpse of an animal! It was really neat to be way up high and listening to the jungle noises all night.

The next morning, we hiked back 11km in the Malay heat and booked a hostel on the outskirts of the jungle. We actually heard some pretty crazy noises at a few points during our walk and we found elephant tracks and dung! We took pictures and a video as evidence--- we were in amongst these incredible animals! People had warned us not to do the hike by ourselves. People said the trails weren't well-marked and we could end up getting seriously lost in the jungle. I guess Ian and I are 'jungle-trekker-extraordinaires' because we didn't have a hard time at all! Haha.

We met some really cool British guys that were heading to the same island that we were heading to next. We booked a night safari for that night too. The night safari took us through the wetlands and was really cool because we were sitting in the back of a 4x4 the whole time as our guide sat on the roof, pointing out animals with his extremely intense flashlight. Our guide could see ANYTHING in the dark... it was amazing. He pointed out animals that were hiding behind bushes and trees while in a moving vehicle. We saw boar, snakes, a leopard cat and more. I wouldn't have been able to spot them in the daylight! Remind me to tell you more about it in person when I see you!

From the jungle we hopped on the Jungle Railway again, up to Kota Baharu. We stayed there the night and then took the morning jetty over to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, according to a bunch of lists we found! Perhentian Kecil Island is absolutely beautiful! It is not commercialized at all and all of the people we met there were super cool and chill. Tons of divers and snorkelers head to the Perentian Islands because there are so many places to dive.We laid out the first day and on the second day we went on a day-long snorkeling trip. Oh my gosh--- I got so burnt the first day, thank GOODNESS we were snorkeling on the day-long trip on Day 2.

We went to 6 different locations and met a bunch of American teachers who are teaching English in Malaysia! We learned so much about the Malay culture and it was so interesting to talk to people who are teaching in a country as culturally different as Malaysia. The teachers have to act totally different and when asked certain questions, they must lie. For example, "Have you ever drank a beer?" Their answer would have to be "No." Drinking isn't 'the thing to do' in Malaysia. Apparently there are areas that aren't as strict as others, and it was so interesting to hear about it!

We swam with sharks at Shark point. I didn't see the sharks though, and apparently they were right by us, but we missed them! At one point, I thought I saw one, and motioned to Ian to follow me because I wanted to get close to it to take a picture... but it ended up being a large silver fish. I think. Oh well! Apparently there were Barracuda's swimming by us too! We also saw giant sea turtles, tons of beautiful fish and sting rays! We got really close to a sting ray and Ian swam even closer with the underwater camera and got a good shot!

The way the island is set up is really cool. We stayed on 'Long Beach.' and you cross the island to get to 'Coral Bay.' To cross the island, you walk about 10 minutes through a small rain forest/jungle. The first time we tried to find the path, Ian saw a giant lizard/crocodile. (We aren't sure which one- we made a run for it!) On the way back from watching the beautiful sunset on Coral Bay and drinking the most delicious milkshakes, we found a wider path back to our beach through the jungle! The third day at the island was our last day and we spent it drinking smoothies, nursing our burns, lying under an umbrella on the beach, swimming in the beautiful water and eating awesome food.

We headed back and took the Jungle Railway down to Singapore. We were on the overnight train so it took 17 hours! We were in the sleeper cabins, so it was a lot better than the seats we had on the way up. Anne picked us up back at the Singapore train station and we made the most of our last day in Singapore. We went for some awesome Indian food and checked out some art shops. Anne took us to a really cool museum that taught us more about Singapore during World War Two. So, all in all, it was an amazing trip! Picture links are attached!

Picture Links:
Singapore:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2150871&l=ead89&id=187905622
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2150900&l=b2fa2&id=187905622
Malaysia:
Jungle Trekking: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2151161&l=49d2e&id=187905622
Perhentian Kecil Island: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152256&l=d9a5f&id=187905622
More Island: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152497&l=475a5&id=187905622
More, More Island: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2153566&l=3f0cd&id=187905622